There are individual openings in the 2015 contingents and more can be expected due to dropouts. These openings MUST be filled. Consider the following suggestions:
- Recruit friends and relatives of crew members
- In your troop or venturing crew
- In other local troops or venturing crews
- In other troops or venturing crews in the tri-state area
- Who are not members of the BSA but are interested in the outdoors and joining up for a Philmont adventure
- Advertise your openings
- To other troops and venturing crews in your town or nearby
- At roundtable gatherings and district events
There are many important reasons for recruiting a full crew of twelve. A few were touched on at the September Conference. The most important has to do with the need to deliver Philmont’s mountaintop experience to as many Scouts, Venturers, and Scouters as possible. In addition, Philmont’s procedures have been built around a full crew of 12. It is unacceptable to leave any of our allotment unfilled.
There are plenty of teenagers out there just waiting to be asked to go. And because of our benefactor, Warren Wheeler*, Patriots’ Path Council can close the financial gap for any youngster in need. There are very few BSA councils, if any, able to make that claim. So the barriers are removed and it is up to us to “Deliver the Promise”. We guarantee a full crew of twelve will result in a best-in-class experience at the lowest cost. Encourage all members of your crew to get to work recruiting some lucky youngsters to fill these openings. They are waiting for your invitation. The rewards will be many.
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An ideal crew has 9 youth and 3 adults. While 2 adults meets both Philmont’s minimum and Scouting’s 2-deep requirements, every crew should have 3 adults. A crew with only 2 adults runs the risk that a physical problem or personal situation that forces one adult to drop out at the last minute will jeopardize the entire crew’s trek, wasting both months of preparation and the financial commitment. Don’t take that chance – if your crew only has 2 adults, recruit a third.
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Reminder: A Philmont crew can have no more than four adults aged 21-years or older.
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Full Crew Recognition: Philmont has instituted the La Docena Adventurado (The Adventurous Dozen) Award for all crews of 12. We expect all our crews to qualify for this recognition. If you don’t have 12 members in your crew, set the entire crew into recruiting mode.
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Scouts Pay Their Way: We hope all will take advantage of the falling leaves and the upcoming winter snows. A few evenings out raking leaves or working with snow shovels can put a big dent in the Philmont fee.
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Phil Fact: Lucien Maxwell acquired all the Beaubien Miranda Mexican land grant through marriage to Luz Beaubien, one of Carlos Beaubien’s daughters, and eventually buying out the interests of other Beaubien heirs and Guadalupe Miranda. At its peak the Maxwell Land Grant included 1,714,765 acres of New Mexico and Colorado, more than twice the size of Rhode Island, and was the largest single tract ever in the history of the United States. Ted Turner is the present record holder when it comes to ownership of land in the United States. Among his more than two million acres of holdings is the Vermejo Park Ranch, directly east of Philmont, which at 590,823 acres is the largest single tract today (the King Ranch in Texas is larger but is not contiguous.) You will drive through Vermejo Park on your way from Raton to Cimarron – look for Turner’s buffalo. The Turner family is kind enough to let Philmont hikers use some of their trails and Rich Cabins camp on the Vermejo property. During the Turner/Philmont trail discussions, the former Mrs. Turner (Jane Fonda) was very happy and proud to remind that her father, Henry Fonda, was (is) a distinguished Eagle.
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The eagles are soaring high over Maxwell turnaround!
Lucian Bonaparte Maxwell
Cimarron, New Mexico Territory
* Need Financial Help? Get a “Wheeler Adventureship Application” at
http://watchu.org/Docs/Warren_Wheeler_Adventureship_form.pdf